Im confused about choosing a privacy focused browser for regular use on android. I have Brave, DDG, Firefox and Mullvad on the list. Please, Help me out choosing the right one.
You should’ve specified which platform you’re looking for. Personally, I use Brave on Android.
Monoculture is a cancer and the answer is simple enough: Firefox
Mozilla is a trash company but still people need to use it to stem the Chromium tide swallowing the entire web browsable internet whole.
If the sites you frequent isnt broken in Firefox, keep using it or its derivatives Mullvad and Tor Browser.
Unfortunately there is no decent alternative to Brave on mobile browsers.
I use Cromite for regular use, Vanadium for logins and Tor browser if needed.
Android: Vanadium
iOS: Brave
Linux: Mullvad and Firefox
If you aren’t using GrapheneOS, then stick with Brave.
You can rule out 2 of the 4 already:
- Mullvad browser is not available for Android
- DDG browser is not a full browser, it’s just a WebView wrapper.
Brave and Firefox are both decent choices usually, but on Android I’d recommend Brave over Firefox since Firefox on Android is not that secure (and attacks like cookie stealing and spectre-like attacks are on the rise).
If you don’t want a dedicated ad blocker, you can also look at Mulch by DivestOS.
If you just want a single tab browser, where you won’t be using any sensitive services and mostly sticking to search engine results page and trusted webpages, even Firefox is fine (I’d recommend Mull by DivestOS as the Firefox variant in that case).
But yes, between the options you presented, I’d go with Brave on Android.
Desktop: Firefox with Brace & Tor Browser where appropriate
Android: Mull & Tor Browser where appropriate
Why? Because fuck Chromium and fuck VC shit.
How do those work with JIT disabled and the timing mitigations of RFP?
I’d have assumed you’d know (awesome work with DivestOS!). I am not the person to ask, not my expertise. I’m mostly basing this on my reading of security research I follow and PG sources. Does Firefox on Android have JIT disabled and site isolation implemented? That is what I was pointing out when I wrote - Firefox on Android is insecure because “spectre like attacks are on the rise”.
Or are you asking if spectre like attacks still happening, because they are. In fact google wrote how they still were a huge threat even back in 2021, and as recently as few months ago AMD zen was shown to be susceptible: Google Online Security Blog: A Spectre proof-of-concept for a Spectre-proof web
I was also going by the PG website, which states:
Firefox (Gecko)-based browsers on Android lack site isolation,1 a powerful security feature that protects against a malicious site performing a Spectre-like attack to gain access to the memory of another website you have open.2 Chromium-based browsers like Brave will provide more robust protection against malicious websites.
Also I had another question:
Is Tor browser on Android actually recommended? Would it prevent leaks of timezone, screen dimensions, etc.? And since it’s Firefox, it would still suffer from the same issues right?
Absurdly Off-topic, although the quote I am replying to was also wayyyy off topic
Any specific technical reason or is it just ideology? I personally love the Chromium project. They have improved web security a lot due to their insistence on not shipping shitty, half-baked solutions, unlike a certain other company I know.
Populism is easy in Open Source community unfortunately, just bash Companies supporting FOSS or criticize government/private funding. Will get anyone plenty of updoots, upvotes, thumbs up, likes, and other public measures of sentiment.
All the while Redhat, Google, VCs (who previously backed projects like Proton, SimpleX, etc.), Steam, etc. keep creating impact for the actual end users lol. Very sad situation.
But if this is just a ideological criticism, I can add my “Fuck Mozilla” and “Fuck FSF” to it
Period. No but's
. It really IS trash company. Period. End of story.
Using what? Trash? No man, trash is to be thrown out and forgotten, not be used.
and use Brave, amirite?
Linux: Firefox + extensions, Mullvad
Android: Mull (Primary), Vanadium (Secondary). Used Brave until recently. Removed it to just minimise the number of apps.
iOS: Safari & Firefox Focus (w Next DNS)
If it gets anti-trusted and becomes a distinct entity, like the standardized reference browser I’d have zero issue with it.
As is it requires an army to maintain that only few can provide and we see others (RIP ) have entirely given up.
pc: floorp, librewolf, mullvad browser, tor browser.
android: mull, torbrowser
PC: Firefox (with PG tweaks and uBO)
Android (Calyx): Mull
desktop : I used to use only Brave for years but since a few months I use Mullvad Browser for general search and Brave for logins.
Android : Vanadium.
On Android my (mild) order of preference would probably be:
- Brave
- Mull
- Others
For GrapheneOS specifically, Vanadium is an option as well which I’d place in the #1 or #2 position above.
And on desktop...
Primary Browser:
- Firefox + Arkenfox
- Brave
Purpose Built:
- Tor Browser
- Mullvad Browser
Testing:
- Firefox Nightly
- Various small dependent derivatives of Firefox
- Chromium and various dependent derivatives
On my phone/tablet: Vanadium for logins, Brave for browsing
Laptop/desktop: Mullvad for browsing, Firefox for logins, Brave for a couple of login sites that don’t work in Firefox
This page doesn’t say how to build brace for Tumbleweed, I think it is done with the same command as for Fedora.